Ernie Garven, the Hamm's Beer Jingle Guy, born in Baker, Minnesota 1914, died in Florida, November 2004

"From the land of sky blue waters (waters),
"From the land of pines, lofty balsams,
"Comes the beer refreshing,
"Hamm's, the beer refreshing."



He celebrated 'sky blue waters'
Musician wrote Hamm's beer jingle that lingered in listeners' memories.
BY KARL J. KARLSON
Pioneer Press

It is a bit of irony that Ernie Garven, who died last week at his Florida home, wrote the unforgettable Hamm's beer advertising jingle, "From the land of sky blue wa-a-aters."

Garven, who was 90, didn't drink beer.

"He didn't drink any alcohol,'' said his daughter, Renee Garven.

It is difficult to estimate the impact of the 1952 jingle, but some credit it with boosting sales of Hamm's beer enough to turn its small local brewery in St. Paul into a near-national brand. The beer still survives as property of the Miller Brewing Co.

Born in Baker, Minnesota, Garven was the youngest of eight children growing up on a farm in Barnesville, Minnesota., about 20 miles east of Fargo, North Dakota. He and his brother Hal, who died about a year ago, got their start on Fargo radio, singing and playing instruments.

Ernie Garven played the accordion and the keyboard. With the late Dick Link, the brothers performed as the Red River Valley Gang, which played live on WCCO Radio in the Twin Cities for decades.

Garven also wrote advertisements — at least 70, including notable ones for Dairy Queen, Mars candies and Malt-o-Meal. But the most famous by far was the Hamm's beer campaign, which was first featured on radio. The later television version featured a cartoon bear and forest critters frolicking in the north woods.

Despite the jingle's widespread success, Garven once said he earned only $350 for the tune and words. The advertising agency that hired him to do the gig originally wanted a catchy Caribbean tune, he once told a reporter. But he wrote its familiar tom-tom beat after hearing American Indian drummers while vacationing in Wisconsin.

To get just the right sound, he beat on an empty cardboard box when recording the jingle with his brother.